Supporting device for telephone receivers



J ly 1936. A. HUFSCHMID 2,048,865

SUPPORTING DEVICE FOR TELEPHONE RECEIVERS Filed Feb. 9, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 A HUFSCHMID SUPPORTING DEVICE FOR TELEPHONE RECEIVERS Filed Feb. 9, 1935 Jul 28, 1936.

Patented July 28, 1935 SUPPORTING DEVICE REC FOR TELEPHONE nrvrns Alfred Hufschmid, Zurich, Switzerland Application In G February 9, 1935, Serial No. 5,760 ermany February 22, 1934 1 Claim. (01. 179-149) It has been proposed before to attach telephone receivers to a supporting arm in such a.

way as to enable one to swing the receiver into a certain position relative to the stationary microphone so as to have the persons hands free during a conversation. For this purpose one also has proposed multiple carrier levers with their single parts interconnected by articulated joints. Such devices, however, are not satisfactory for receivers containing both earand mouthpiece,

as those arms either could be swung in but one Y plane-with the receiver in but one certain fixed distance from the stationary microphone-or, on the other hand, their alignment onto any points in space called for the manipulating of special holding devices.

In order now to enable one to bring a receiver containing both microphone and earpiece onto a great number of points in space without interfering with the usual manual way of use nor without the necessity of manipulating special fixing devices, the object of the present invention calls for a supporting arm consisting of joints interconnected by means of unilateral axes of rotation, said arm, being fastened at one end in a stationary double joint and weighted down at its other or free end by the receiver connected to it, stiffening itself into a straight support due to the unilateral axes of rotation of its jointed links, and enabling one to roll up said arm in order to load the switch-fork of the telephone with the weight of the receiver fastened to it.

A further improvement of the supporting arm according to the present invention may be found in the fact, that said arm is connected to the receiver by means of a joint which allows one to fix the receiver, hanging free from said arm, in a plane including any angle with the frontal plane of the instrument. This enables the user of the telephone to maintain a natural head position.

The accompanying drawings show the object of the invention in various examples of design.

Fig. 1 shows the supporting device for a. wall telephone when not in use.

Fig. 2 shows the supporting device for a wall telephone when in use;

Fig. 3 shows the supporting device for a desktelephone when not in use;

Fig. 4 shows a side view of part of the supporting device;

Fig. 5 shows a top view or part of the supporting device;

Fig. 6 shows a bottom view of part of the supporting device;

Fig. 7 shows a section along line 1-1 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 8 shows a section along line 11-11 of Fig. 5; Fig. 9 shows the front part of the supporting device;

Fig. 10 shows a section of the supporting device 5 according to Fig. 3;

Fig. 11 shows a side view of the supporting device according to Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 12 shows a perspective schematical view of the supporting device of a desk telephone when in use;

Fig. 13 shows the articulatedjoint in section to a larger scale, where the receiver has been swung out of its operating position into the vertical plane of its joint socket for the purpose of better illustration.

Figs. 14, 15 and 16 show. top views oi the joint, partly in section in three different angular positions to the supporting arm;

Fig. 1'? shows a front view of the joint;

Fig. 18 shows a perspective view of the joint with receiver in use;

Fig. 19 shows a perspective rear view of the joint.

In the design examples of Figs. 1-11 5 is the switch'fork of the wall telephone from which receiver 2 by means of supporting loop 3 hangs when not in use. Besides the instrument 6 a board 5 (Figs; 1-11) is fastened to the wall carrying a vertical round rod 6 which itself carries a cast piece I to be slid upward and downward and which can be fixed in any height by means of set-screws 8. Piece 1 is fastened to articulated supporting arm i0 composed of jointed links 9. Links 9 (Figs. 4-8) are interconnected by pins II and engage with tongues l2 corresponding grooves or recesses 15 of adjacent links while opposite frontal edges 13 abut and thus align the supporting chain into a stiff arm. Since pins ll are located on top and near corners I l and the latter are rounded in their contour, links 9 stiffen against each other with the chain in a horizontal position, but still may adjust themselves in an upward sense as shown in Fig. 4. These links show bottom recesses (Figs. 6-8) for accommodating in their succession cable I! connecting receiver 2 with instrument 4.

As said above, one end of supporting arm i0 is fastened to the tapered piece I and the other end carries piece is through the intermediary of loose pin I8 (Fig. 9) forming a loose joint. Said piece l9 carries supporting loop 3 fastened to the receiver, by means of discs 20.

When the receiver is not in use, it hangs,

fastened to arm I0, from switch lever l accord- 55 against 'one another. One now can use the receiver without holding it by hand. By m'eans oi tapered piece 1 and set-screw 8 the receiver may 7 be adjusted to any height.

earpiece and microphone 3|.

In the example for desk telephones according to Figs. 3 and 10 only the outside part oi the supporting arm is adapted as a chain with the lower part 2i beingrigid. The latter is jointed revolvably to a revolving piece 22 by means of pin 22 (Big. 10) \and its inclination can bead,- iusted by means of a set-screw 24. Piece 23v is mounted revolvably on a cone 26 .by. means 'oi screw 25, said cone 28, being part of the base of the desk telephone 21. In this instance too the receiver may be aligned in any and all directions. In the example according to Figs. 12-19 Ill againis the chain-like supporting-arm, 4 is a desk telephone with receiver 2 combining both The last link 32 of the supporting arm in (Fig. 12) carries a socket 34 revolvable around screw 22. In an axial recess .25 of socket 34 is a ball 31 checked by a spring 36, said ball (Fig.- 14). moving on a circular track 38 rigid on arm it when turning socket 34 around screw 22. Said circular track 38 has a stop 2!! into which ball 31 may spring (Fig. 14). In such a latter case the axis of arm l0 has a-ce'rtain angular position to the axis 01' socket 34. Ball 31 and spring 24 are incorporated in a screw 40 resting in bore 25. An anglelever 42 loosely grips a shoulder 4| of screw 40, one leg 44 of which lies at right angles to the axis, of socket 34 while its other leg 43 is bent V at right angles to leg 44 and shows at its 41. In that part of leg 44.

front part a hollow 45 adapted to the shape of the earpiece (Fig. 13).' are rigidly connected to each other by a screw lying below screw- 4| 1 mal position of use (Fig. 15). The position acdesk telephone 4 with arm socket, said lever being Leg and earpiece 4| I aces poswe have-a recess 44 on the same axis with screw 42 and beingrigidly connected to socket 24 by a screw 49: thus the lever 42 and with it the receiver 2 may be swung for a certain angle on screw 40 or its shoulder 4|. The circular recess I 48 is arranged so as to fix receiver 2, when hang-' ing free on arm iii, in an angular position according to Figs. '1 and 8,, which enables one to" use the receiver with ones normal position of head and without holding it by hand. The receiver also may be swung into diiferent positions around screw as (Fig.14-i8). Receiver 2 then is fixed in its position according to Fig. 15 by ball 21 snapping into stop 28. This is the nor- 15 cording to Fig. 16 is attained when receiver 2 is being put back upon the switch-fork so of the i0 bending according to Fig. 3, or, again, when the telephone stands squarely in front o! the speaker.

I'claim:

A supporting device for the combined receiver and mouth piece of desk-set telephones, consisting oi a chain of solid rhombic pieces loosely revolvably connected with each other at their, upper ends and engaging with tongue and oove' along their entire adjacent sides and bracing themselves against each other, each chain link being freely revolvable about its axis in an upward sense and stiiiening itself by .wayni tongue 30 and groove against adjacent chain-links in a ,downward sense. one end of said chain being moun revolvably and the other end being connected with the combined ,reoeiver and mouth piece by a loose Joint, said joint ing a socket mounted revolvably on said chain andan angular lever to be turned about thaxis of said fastened to the combined piece. and means for arrestpositions -rela- 4 ALFRED receiver and mouth ing said socket at tiveto saidlchain. 

